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Roll for it! The third movie in the Michael Bay Transformers trilogy, Dark of the Moon, opens on June 29th, 2011. Here in California it is around 9:30pm of June 28th. But when the clock strikes midnight in a few hours, many of the bigger multiplexes around here will be showing the movie.

Normally I would be totally making plans to go to the midnight showing. If not, then this weekend for sure. But the GF is on vacation and she would kill me if I saw this before she did, so most likely I’ll catch it when she returns next week.

Some of my coworkers are planning to see this soon. I’ll be asking for their thoughts.

Prepare yourselves, my fellow TransFans! This is Earth’s Last Stand! Time to… Transform and Roll Out!

Oh happy day! News broke that the G1 Devastator giftset will be re-released in the Encore line. This is finally my chance to get my hands on a complete set of the G1 Constructicons. Release is set for late 2011. MSRP will be around 10500 yen, roughly $130 US today.

I mentioned before that I am on a quest to acquire all the G1 Combiner teams. This brings me one step closer to that dream. Getting a complete G1 Devastator would have costed me an arm and a leg. Now that this set is on the horizon, I might get some of those custom Devastator parts by Crazy Devy. They’re not cheap though. Even at Botcon they were not being sold for any kind of discount. All the parts added together will easily surpass the cost of the giftset.

In related news, the 3rd party Scavenger figure that I reported in my last post is now up for pre-order at your favorite online TF retailers (you know what they are). This product is being called Hercules Exgraver. I’m guessing Hercules is Devastator and Exgraver is Scavenger.

Here’s the pic I took at Botcon:

Another color image:

MSRP of this figure is right below $100. The obvious conclusion here is that this Devastator set will be $600, if they really make all 6. Am I hardcore enough to buy them? Only time will tell.

Dinobots and Constructicons were rivals in G1. At Voyager size, this Constructicons set will even give Masterpiece Grimlock a run for his money. “Prepare for Extermination!”

I am back from BotCon 2011! General admission was on June 4th and 5th and I was there both days. Once again I went with my buddy Gemini. We couldn’t wait for BotCon 2011 since we had a blast in 2009, which was also in Pasadena. BotCon 2011 did not disappoint! Check out the pics below.

The Venue

Across the street from the convention center were parked fan customs of Ratchet and Bumblebee. Notice Ravage is on top of Ratchet. Very cool. Movie Ironhide and G1 Trailbreaker showed up later but I forgot to take pics.

Convention Displays

BotCon 2011 Exclusive Figures

I’m not sure what are the names for any of these figures. Also, I had a chance to take pics of the exclusive Animated Stunticons, but forgot to.

Hall of Fame

Upcoming Third Party Figures

FansProject is working on an add-on for G2 Optimus to make it look more G2, similar to the add-on for Classic Ultra Magnus and Rodimus. This is shaping up nicely. Word is, there will be 2 versions, one for Prime and a black repaint for Scourge. I’m getting this for sure!

Another shot of the same product from different angle. Also includes a shot of the clear Rodimus add-on.

These are the upcoming FansProject Insecticons! In color for the first time! Really, really looking forward to these. All 3 are required purchase for me.

Masterpiece Ramjet by iGear, or “Jet”. TF Source was selling these for $130 on Sunday. These were available to be touched. The quality is not too shabby, feels like real MPs by Hasbro. Now if they were only about half price I would’ve bought one.

Other Masterpiece Seekers by iGear: Thrust, Dirge, and Sunstorm. Can’t remember what iGear calls them. I’m guessing they will also be around $130 per.

Apparently, iGear is making their own interpretations of G1 Ratchet and Ironhide. Right now its pics only and no prototype displays. These are looking promising. No word on what the price will be.

Sonicron by BTS Toys. This may be released already. No mystery who this is supposed to be. I may get one if it gets good reviews and the price is acceptable.

Scavenger figure, I think by TFClub. He appears to be Voyager size. Pics in the back does show other figs and they will combine. We talked to the guy manning the booth. He has confirmed that 3 of the Constructicons will be released, but at this point there’s no word on the other 3. He also places the price point at about $100 per fig after shipping. Details are so sketchy on this right now. At Voyager size, this Devastator would be so impressive combined. But it would totally suck if they made 3 and then stopped.

The above 2 pics are not 3rd party products. They are repainted customs being offered by this one booth. Nowhere else to put these pics so I lumped them here. You can see the guy that does these in the upper pic. He’s got impressive skills to say the least.

Contest Entries

There were many entries. I only took pics of the ones that grabbed my attention.

This last pic above, that was the winner.

Kre-O

When I first learned of Kre-O, I was thrilled. I loved Legos when I was a kid and I built TFs out of them. However, I think I read somewhere that these sets will NOT transform. What these sets offer is to build one mode, take it apart, and build the other mode. That kinda takes the fun out of Transformers. Quality of the bricks could also be an issue. Many have attempted to copy Legos, but none have reproduced the quality (I’m looking at you, Mega Blocks). I’ll read up on some reviews before I get these.

Cosplayers

I only managed to snap 2 pics of Cosplayers. I saw many others but were too lazy to take pics. Some were real creative. Definitely better Cosplaying at this Con than the 09 Con.

This Movie Starscream has got to be the best TF cosplaying I’ve ever seen!

Current and Upcoming Hasbro Figures

All store exclusives in this pic. I already got the Prime and Comettor 2-pack. Will also get Leadfoot and the Terradive repaint. Undecided about the rest.

More store exclusives. I have the blue Sideswipe repaint.

Definitely getting US version of MP Rodimus, even though I already have the Japanese version. US version will include the Targetmaster figure, and I’m hoping the flaws are corrected, like the Japanese 2nd release.

Here’s my chance to get Unicron! He will retail for $59.99. Looks like he’s got a more Movie accurate head mold too.

Current Reveal the Shield figs. I’ve got the bottom row. Still trying to find Grapple.

I’ve got all of these, except Mindset and Fallback. Amazon was selling Wreck-Gar for $14.99 right before BotCon started. I wasted no time buying one. They are all sold out now, I should have bought more. I’ll post about this later.

I now have Windcharger and Chopsaw (see Haul section below). I like to get the G1 legends figs. I haven’t seen them anywhere, other than BotCon. Not gonna pay the markup that the dealers ask though.

Some Power Core Combiners on the top row. I’ve got all the Generations figs in the bottom row.

DOTM Scouts. So far I’ve only bought Sandstorm. The new ones are on the bottom row. Some of these have potential to be good.

More DOTM toys. Top row are the Human Alliance figs. I’ve bought Roadbuster. Haven’t opened him yet, but he’s looking good. More scouts on the bottom row.

The other TF Prime figs. The Matrix packaging on the bottom will be a Comic-Con exclusive.

This is Ultimate Optimus Prime. It’s huge! Retail I believe is $89.99. I plan to get one.

DOTM Leader class figs. I’ve got Sentinel, and Bumblebee is available just about everywhere. Ironhide is looking promising.

DOTM Voyager figs. I have Shockwave and Skyhammer. Might get this Prime with the ax too.

More DOTM toys. I’ve got Prime and Megs at the bottom. Will also get Thundercracker when I see him. Some dealers already had him at BotCon.

My BotCon 2011 Haul

No trip to any anime/toy/comic convention is complete without acquiring some loot. And so I proudly present my acquisitions from BotCon 2011:

Windcharger, Chopsaw, Breacher, Sunspot, Firetrap, Backfire – These were purchased as a set of 6 for $48 at the Hasbro booth. That comes to $8 per fig. Hardcore fans will tell you that the prize here is Windcharger. And that was pretty much the reason I bought the set. Most dealers ask $40+ for just Windcharger, so I figure $48 bucks for 6 figs is not too bad. Hasbro knows how to milk it though, this is one way to rid figs that don’t sell. I’ve seen the other 5 figs go for $5 sometimes. But anyway, Breacher was new when I bought him, I just forgot to take the pic. I’ve also opened Sunspot and I checked out Gemini’s Windcharger. All 3 are good figs, so I don’t regret buying this set at all.

TF United Megatron – I have the first Classic Megatron released in the US, back in 2006. However, I don’t like his Nerfy colors and I’ve always wanted one that was more G1. In the 09 Con, I thought about buying the Henkei version for $50, but in the end decided not to. On Saturday when we lined up to get into the Con, we saw a Devastator costume with a Henkei Meg attached to the shoulder. This gave me the idea to re-look for either a Henkei Meg or a United Meg. One booth had many United Megs for $50. I made an offer for $45 and the guy agreed. I now finally have a G1 looking Meg in the Classics-verse.

Beast Wars Complete DVD Set by Shout! Factory – Beast Wars is a great series, in my opinion only 2nd to G1. Gemini introduced me to the show, and I watched all 3 seasons on his Rhino DVDs. I wanted my own set for some time now. Rhino Beast Wars DVDs went OOP for a while so the price was all marked up. News broke of a Shout! Factory version some months ago. I have their G1 Matrix of Leadership set and that was great, so I expect the Beast Wars set to be great as well. As of this writing, I don’t even see this set listed on Amazon, only the Season 1 set. So I’m happy to get one so early at $45 for the complete series.

Encore Sky Lynx – I know, I mentioned before how I think Sky Lynx is one of the lamest Transformers ever. But the deal I see at BotCon was just too irresistible for a G1 guy. One dealer only asked $35 to get rid of these. There were about 10 units when I first saw the deal. I didn’t get one right away because I was still considering if I really wanted one. I came back 20 min later and only one was left! You can’t really see it in the pic, but the top right corner is kinda messed up. So I offered $30 and the seller took it. $30 for Sky Lynx is not bad at all. I’ll open him later and check out the walking action.

Obi-Wan Transformer – Got him new for $8. This looks like the Ep 2 Jedi Starfighter. He’s only worth about $8. Not recommended at MSRP.

Kre-O Optimus Prime figure – This I got free from the Kre-O booth. This is supposedly a convention exclusive. Some dealers were buying these at $5.

All pics below.

So that about wraps it up, my experience at BotCon 2011. I had a great time and I’m certainly looking forward to more. Chances are, BotCon will not be back in Pasadena next year. I was lucky to have it close to me in 09, and so soon again this year. Depending on where they have it next year, I might consider traveling, but that’s a post for another time. For now, I’m looking forward to the third movie.

I do have a small gripe about this year’s Con, and it’s that you have to buy tickets on each day. In 09 I bought tickets for both days on Sat. I wonder why they made this change. However, I do want to point out that there were no lines at all to buy the tickets on Sunday, so it’s not a big issue.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the BotCon organizers for making this such a great event. Long live Transformers and long live BotCon! Until All Are One… Transform and Roll Out!

BotCon 2011 is this coming weekend! I’m so stoked! It officially starts tomorrow, but I will only be there for General Admission which is Saturday and Sunday. I can’t wait for all the robots and the TransFans. Pasadena Convention Center is a great venue for the event. I will be doing some serious shopping. I need to make a list of figures that I’m looking for so I don’t miss anything. I might attend some panels. In the 09 Con on Sunday, Tyrese made a surprise visit! Who knows what surprises Hasbro has in stored for us.